How to Fix Your Credit — Once & For All

Are you wondering what you can do to fix your credit score? Or if it’s even possible to do this? If this describes you and your situation, then you aren’t alone. Experian’s 2015 VantageScore 3.0 data found that close to one-third of Americans have a credit score lower than 601 — and the good news is, there are ways to fix it.

Building good credit won’t happen overnight because creating and maintaining a solid credit history takes time. You’ll also need to accept the fact that it’s going to take some hard work and patience as well for credit repair.

The steps to fixing your credit and credit scores will include getting a sense of your finances. You will be going through them with a fine-toothed comb while looking for any errors and pinpointing problem areas, like overspending, that you need to address.

To fix your credit score:

Know your credit score and know the balances of your credit cards or other credit accounts.

Find out which revolving accounts have the highest credit utilization (the amount of credit used versus the credit limit).

Pay extra attention to lowering the utilization of these accounts and focus on returning them to good standing to improve your credit.

Keep in mind that credit age is also a factor in your credit score, so avoid closing too many accounts. This can hurt your efforts to fix your credit score.

It won’t be easy, and it’s certainly not as fun as going shopping, but the relief you’ll feel at being able to take out new credit when you need it will be well worth the effort and time it took to rebuild your credit.

First Step: Check Your Credit

The first thing you need to do is get your credit reports and credit scores from each of the credit bureaus so that you can gauge where you’re at and determine what parts of your score need work.

You should get your credit reports from each of the major credit reporting agencies, as each may contain different data that could impact your scores. You’ll rarely know ahead of time which report is being pulled by a lender, so it’s important to make sure they’re accurate, and you’ve addressed any issues

Need Credit Repair Help?

Lexington Law can help you remove negative items on your credit reports

What Will I See on These Reports?

You’ll see basic details about yourself — your name, birthday, address, etc. It’s important to review these to make sure they’re accurate. Note: Past addresses may also be listed, which is OK.

You’ll also see any financial legal issues you may have, like a bankruptcy, lien, judgment or wage garnishment. If one of these is bringing your credit scores down, take comfort in knowing these negative items eventually age off.

Beyond that is creditor information, which makes up most of your reports. This includes different accounts you have (loans, credit cards, etc.), their status (open/closed, in collections), balances, credit limits and payment details. This may also include dates of missed payments or late payments, or when the accounts were sent to collections. From these details, your credit scores will be formed.

Credit scores are broken into five major categories:

Payment History (35% of your scores) — Your history of repaying account debts

Length of Credit History (15%) — How long you’ve had active credit accounts

Types of Credit (10%) — Your variety of accounts

Credit Inquiries (10%) — Number of inquiries into your credit profile

Now that you understand what these reports cover and how your credit scores are calculated, you can begin addressing your issues.

You Can’t Fix Bad Credit in 30 Days

We get it — you’ve found problems. Whether they’re errors or areas you need to focus on you may find yourself wanting results quickly, however, these revisions can’t happen overnight. For instance, you can’t lengthen your credit history right away.

You may be able to fix your credit utilization — the amount of debt you have relative to your credit limits and the second most principal factor in calculating your credit scores.

It’s best to keep your credit utilization below 30% (ideally 10%) to show creditors you can manage your available credit responsibly without maxing out your credit cards.

If you went over that 30% mark, you could quickly undo any small drop you may have noticed in your credit scores by paying off those balances and getting your percentage back to less than 30% utilization.

Still, that’s an exception to the rule. Some credit mistakes can impact your score for years. It’s tough to hear, especially if you were really counting on that mortgage approval to finance your dream home.

Checking your credit on a regular basis is important. If you spot a mistake and can fix it before you apply, you can avoid that “Dear John” letter from a lender.

If you have inaccurate negative information on your credit reports, you can see some substantial changes to your credit scores as you work to fix them. Credit reporting agencies must respond to disputes within 30 days (some can take 45 days), which is much shorter than the years-long wait you’ll face with accurate derogatory information.

If the credit reporting agency sides with you, they must remove the mistake immediately. In a 2012 Federal Trade Commission study on credit report accuracy, 79% of people who disputed an error on their credit reports were able to have it removed.

Steps to Rebuild Your Credit

1. Pinpoint Your Credit-Score Killers

If you have one of those letters we mentioned earlier that details your credit problems, you have some idea of what’s holding you back. Even though it may seem complex, as we mentioned, your credit score is based on five core factors: payment history, credit utilization, the age of credit accounts, mix of credit accounts and history of applying for credit. They’re not equally weighted, and this information will most likely vary between credit bureaus.

Your payment history is the most important factor, accounting for 35% of most scores. That’s why even just one late payment can drop your score significantly.

Your credit utilization is the second biggest factor, accounting for 30% of most scores. This encompasses the amount of revolving credit (i.e. credit cards, home equity lines of credit) you’re using compared to the limits on those accounts.

The age of your credit accounts is another key factor, accounting for roughly 15% of most credit scores. This is calculated by looking at the age of your oldest account and the average age of all your accounts. If this is hurting your scores, not much can be done except not closing the accounts.

The mix of your credit accounts, which accounts for 10% of most credit scores, looks at how you handle different types of credit. There are two main types of credit — installment accounts (i.e. mortgages, car loans, student loans) and revolving accounts (i.e. credit cards and lines of credit).

Creditors want to see you can handle both kinds of credit responsibly. If you’ve only had credit cards in the past, a car loan or a mortgage may improve your credit score, but it’s rarely a beneficial idea to take out a loan just to build credit.

The last major factor is your history of applying for credit. This accounts for 10% of most credit scores and may be holding you back if you applied for several credit accounts recently. This factor also takes time to correct, but any hard inquiries into your credit will only ding your scores slightly, and as they get older, they will have less of an impact. A year is generally when they begin to stop hurting your credit scores.

Now you know what’s hurting your credit scores. So, what do you do? Since one of the fastest ways to see some improvement is by fixing errors on your credit report, that will be your next step.

2. Clean Up Your Credit Report

If you have mistakes on your credit report, you’ll want to start the dispute process as soon as possible. Credit repair is something you can do on your own, or you can turn to the help of a professional credit repair company to help you fix your credit. Whichever option you choose, it’s important to start right away.

For now, here are quick tips for determining how many credit repair letters you’ll need to write or file online:

You need to dispute each mistake with each credit bureau. Just because the same mistake appears on all three credit reports doesn’t mean disputing it with one of the bureaus will fix the others.

It’s not uncommon to find multiple errors on your credit report, and you’ll need to dispute each account separately. However, if you see multiple mistakes on the same account, you can group all those mistakes into one dispute.

You can dispute credit report errors without any experts’ help, but for some people, the process is too confusing, and they just want to hit the “easy” button. You can hire a credit repair company or law firm to represent you for a fee.

A good credit repair company will never promise a “300-point jump in your scores!” — In fact, that’s illegal. They’ll be upfront about what they can do and will take payment after they’ve delivered.

3. Start Some Positive Credit History

You may have been denied one kind of credit, but that doesn’t mean you’re shut out from borrowing entirely. If your payment history, credit utilization or a mix of accounts are hurting your scores, opening new credit may help you rebuild credit faster.

There are credit cards designed to help called secured credit cards. These require a deposit that generally serves as your credit limit. If you don’t pay your bills, the card company can withdraw the deposit. If you open one of these cards, it’s important to make on-time payments and keep an eye on your credit utilization.

Just because you have a card with a $1,000 limit doesn’t mean you should charge $800 — that can hinder your efforts.

Benefits of a Secured Credit Card to Fix Your Credit

If you are an individual who has a very poor credit history or a lack of credit history, then a secured credit card may be what you need to help repair your credit and raise your credit scores.

Depending on your situation, a secured credit card can start fixing your credit in as little as six months. However, it may take longer to see a marked improvement in some cases. If your credit history is lacking and you have no credit, then a secured card will be the best route because there is no negative information to start with.

The secured credit card is a way to build and establish credit to obtain higher credit scores. If you found that you cannot get approved for a traditional credit card, you’re still likely to get approved for a secured credit card because there is less risk for the lender. The card issuer will report to the credit bureaus about your ability to pay the credit card on time and how you manage and use the balance.

Additionally, the security deposit you used to obtain the card is used if you were to default on your payment. However, this is not the case if the balance in which you have defaulted happens to be higher than the security deposit amount. Using the security deposit means that even if you default, the card will be paid because it is secured by your funds and you will not have the account end up in collections due to nonpayment.

Here are some other quick tips to consider as you fix your credit:

Pay down credit card balances and refrain from making new purchases. In fact, you may want to put your plastic on ice.

If you’re worried about taking out a credit card, consider a credit-builder loan with a bank or financial institution.

Refrain from closing old credit card accounts once you have them under control, as this can affect your credit utilization and make it harder to build a solid credit history.

When you’re ready to shop for new credit, like a mortgage or auto loan, rate shop during a 14- to 45-day window (depending on the scoring model). Most credit scoring models will group inquiries by type in that time frame.

Why You Should Fix Your Credit

There are many reasons an individual should start on the path to credit repair. Some of the bigger reasons include the advantage of saving money on interest and no longer having to pay high security deposits. You may also be able to find lower insurance rates, receive higher credit limits, and stop debt collector harassment.

You will also see the beginning of a newfound financial freedom where you don’t have to depend on co-signers to help you make purchases and secure loans. You will be relieved of the financial burden of inferior credit and will feel better about your repaired credit.

You won’t find yourself crossing your fingers the next time a lender pulls your credit before you attempt to make a big purchase like buying a new house or car. You can sit there confident that you have a high score and you won’t have to anxiously wait for the lender’s rejection because of bad credit or the lack of credit.

Finally, don’t give up! If you build good habits over time, you’ll fix your credit and maintain good scores.

This article has been updated. It was originally published January 29, 2016.

Credit report mistakes can lead to disqualification for mortgages and car loans, as well as increased insurance premiums and interest rates. In some cases, those mistakes can even prevent you from getting a job.

Consumers have started enlisting a law firm to dispute negative items on their credit reports...and they’ve been wildly successful! Click here to learn about the strategies they use to fix their credit.

79% of consumers who disputed credit report errors were successful in removing them

Comments on articles and responses to those comments are not provided or commissioned by a bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by a bank advertiser. It is not a bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

Please note that our comments are moderated, so it may take a little time before you see them on the page. Thanks for your patience.

Read More About Credit Repair

What many Americans don’t know is there may be a lot of errors and negative items on their credit report. In fact, it’s reported that as many as one in five Americans have mistakes on their credit report.

Certain credit cards and other financial products mentioned in this and other articles on Credit.com News & Advice may also be offered through Credit.com product pages, and Credit.com will be compensated if our users apply for and ultimately sign up for any of these cards or products. However, this relationship does not result in any preferential editorial treatment.